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Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903) was a Filipino political philosopher and architect

of the Philippine revolution. He formulated the principles of a democratic popular government, endowing the historical struggles of the Filipino people with a coherent ideological orientation. Apolinario Mabini was born in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas, on July 22, 1864. His parents belonged to the impoverished peasantry. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1881 and at the University of Santo Thomas, where he received the law degree in 1894. During this time he earned his living by teaching Latin and then serving as copyist in the Court of First Instance in Manila. In 1896 Mabini contracted an illness, probably infantile paralysis, that deprived him of the use of his legs. When the Katipunan revolt broke out late that year, the Spanish authorities arrested him. Unknown to many, Mabini was already a member of José Rizal's reformist association, the Liga Filipina. And though as a pacifist reformist, he was at first skeptical of Andres Bonifacio's armed uprising, Mabini later became convinced of the people's almost fanatical desire for emancipation. Subsequently, he turned out subversive manifestos appealing to all Filipinos to unite against Spain. In May 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo summoned Mabini to act as his adviser. Mabini formulated the famous decree of June 18, which reorganized the local government under Filipino control. His policy throughout the struggle can be epitomized by a statement in that decree: "The first duty of the government is to interpret the popular will faithfully." Mabini was also instrumental in supervising the proper administration of justice, the election of delegates to the revolutionary congress, and the establishment of the mechanism of the revolutionary government itself. When the revolutionary congress was convoked in Barasoain, Malolos, Bulacan, on

government and continuing to support the insurgents in their ideological struggle. a reasoned analysis and cogent argument concerning the ideological implications of the revolution against Spain and the resistance to the American invaders. based on the Statutes of Universal Masonry. Mabini's chief work. given the emergency conditions of war. he was deported to Guam in 1901. He always tried to mediate between the people's will and the decisions of their leaders. Mabini found himself opposed to the plans of the wealthy bourgeoisie to draft a constitution. He died on May 13.Sept.
. and to profit from. La Revolution Filipina. Mabini succeeded in exposing the vicious opportunism of the Paterno-Buencamino clique. who were trying to gain control over.S. reveals the progressive and democratic impulse behind his thinking. the financial transactions of the revolutionary government. Still refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the U. He was a selfless and dedicated patriot. Mabini then submitted his own constitutional plan. He believed that. When the Aguinaldo camp fled from the advancing American forces. Mabini's conflict with the conspiracy of property owners and the landlord class in the congress led to his eclipse in 1899 as Aguinaldo's trusted adviser--the only competent thinker and theoretician in the Aguinaldo Cabinet. Calderon. 1899. 10. 1903. Defeated by the majority. 1898. which became the basis of the Malolos Constitution of the first Philippine Republic. 15. It was rejected in favor of a composite draft submitted by Felipe G. the function of the congress was simply to advise the president and not to draft a constitution. Mabini was captured on Dec.